I operate a few websites. My main site is danerickson.net. I have a poetry site called Cowboy Zen. And of course, there’s this site, Hip Diggs. There have been several other blogs I’ve created and deleted over the years.
Last year, I was going to phase Hip Diggs out and focus on my main site. I missed writing here and have continued to post, although less frequently.
Truth be told, I get about five times as many readers here as I do at Dan Erickson. Still, that won’t motivate me to continue Hip Diggs for the long haul. I’ve decided to stop at 500 posts. FYI: this is post #477. That means I’ll keep posting as I sell my house and move into a new living situation. But when I hit 500, I’m going to let Hip Diggs sit quietly.
Minimalism Is an Overcrowded Topic
One reason I’m going to let Hip Diggs go quiet is simply that there are too many blogs about minimalism and simple living. There were a lot of minimalist sites when I started, but I think the number has quadrupled in the past five years. It seems that everybody is becoming an expert on minimalism.
Second, and I’ve mentioned this before, there’s a lot more to Dan Erickson than being a minimalist. I believe that I have a lot more to offer to my tribe as a writer.
Once I reach 500 posts, the plan will be to keep the site live as a resource only. Of course, that’s what I said at the end of 2018, and here I am writing today. So, you never know. As I recently said, nothing is written in stone.
If I Had It All to Do Over Again
If you’re a blogger, or you know a blogger, or you’re thinking about blogging, listen closely.
It’s easy as a writer to get excited about blogging. It’s also easy to stray. Hip Diggs and Dan Erickson are now so indelibly linked, I’d have a hard time killing one without killing the other. That means I’ll likely keep Hip Diggs alive indefinitely, even if I wanted to let it go dark.
So my advice to future bloggers: If you have several blogs, be careful about creating too many interlinks. This goes for links to other social networks, too.
Both of my blogs are linked tight with SoundCloud and Amazon as well. That’s good and bad. It’s good because it leads people to my books and music. It’s bad because if I ever decide to quit offering any single book or album, I have a bunch of work to do to clean things up.
In other words, I’ve created a lot of digital clutter. That’s something most so-called minimalist bloggers do. Ironic? A little.
Back to Downsizing Next Post
Now that I’ve got this off my chest, my next post will return to my downsizing journey. As a quick update, I’ve signed papers to put my house on the market. Pictures have been taken. The next post really will be the announcement that my house is officially for sale.
